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‘The sales, installation and use of counterfeit, fake and substandard consumer telecom equipment such as mobile phones, tablets and other mobile accessories pose great risk to human health and safety and this underscores the importance of type approval of every equipment imported for use in Nigeria’
By Ahmed Ahmed
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has sensitized regulatory officers of service providers on challenges affecting compliance monitoring and enforcement activities.
At the forum with regulatory officers of service providers, Mr. Efosa Idehen, the Director Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement of the Commission in Bauchi, said that the forum was to acquaint the regulatory officers with compliance with NCC regulations.
“The Nigeria Communications Act and the terms and conditions of your license ensure your company operates legally and maintains a strong working relationship with the regulator.
“It protects your business from avoidable fines and sanctions and ensures confidence within the industry,” he said.
Idehen, represented by Isah Olatimo, from the Commission, charged Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISP) to comply with regulatory frameworks emplaced by the Commission towards ensuring security and safety of their networks for telecom consumers.
He said one of the regulatory frameworks put in place by the Commission is the Internet Code of Practice (ICP) for the telecom industry, which is essentially to protect the right of Internet users to an open Internet and provide clear guidelines to Internet Access Service Providers on the use of traffic management practices.
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The director said that the need for telecom licensees, especially the MNOs and ISPs, to adhere strictly to industry frameworks that seek to enthrone effective governance in Internet delivery services.
Also, Mr Abdulazeez Adamu Head of Enforcement Unit of the Commission explained that conducting type-approval exercise is in compliance with the international standards.
Adamu said that different regions of the world have varying specifications and standards requirements on equipment for compatibility, seamless interoperability of networks and deployment of digital services.
He however, explained the adverse effect of the lack of a type approval process in any telecoms market.
“The sales, installation and use of counterfeit, fake and substandard consumer telecom equipment such as mobile phones, tablets and other mobile accessories pose great risk to human health and safety and this underscores the importance of type approval of every equipment imported for use in Nigeria.”
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